Floor, strike, video, new student, surgery, work teams

We went into the school today, and over the weekend the beautiful tile floor had buckled in several places! (The tile is over cement, and this is on the second floor.) We had two theories: a mild earthquake, and intense heat. But it's always hot here, so I don't know why all of a sudden it would do that! We don't really know what happened, we just hope they can fix it. The problem isn't in the classrooms, but in a large room (church's fellowship hall) that we pass through to get to the classrooms.

We use the facilities of a local church, and they told us to try to keep the kids from walking on the parts that are sticking up, in order not to break the tiles--like I can keep 41 deaf children walking around an obstacle course to get to their classrooms, LOL! I'm going to do my best.

We also had a new five year old come register today. We just have to figure out how we can get her into the school. She lives a whole hour away, but her mom is willing to bring her daily.

Tomorrow is a national strike for higher wages, so there are no classes. (I should say "today" since it is after midnight. ;)

We have a young man here who is going to do a short video of the school ministry for us. Once it is done, it will be posted on the internet, and you can have a more close-up look at what we are doing.

There is one hard-of-hearing child who attends school with us who is going to undergo surgery next week on Tuesday, to correct his hearing loss. This is very unusual; most deafness cannot be surgically corrected. In this child's case, he has a syndrome that causes malformation of the ears, and results in hearing loss. The surgeon believes his hearing will be normal post-surgery. He's just a little guy, four years old. We ask your prayers for him.

There are some possibilities for work teams coming this year. In January a team will be here as part of a college & seminary program. They will be doing some cultural studies in the country, as well as spending a few days working with our children. There are several Signers among them. Some of the people on the team came last year, and the children are looking forward to seeing them again. There are others are talking to us about coming, and we look forward to seeing what the Lord has in mind for all of us. We hope to be of mutual benefit.